Political influence in the media is not new. But in the past few years, political interference with media and pressures from powerful businesses on independent journalism have intensified. Who is out there still doing independent journalism? How much influence does journalism have in society and politics? How should media systems be reformed to create a better environment for independent journalism?

Moderated by Eva Bognar, Senior Program Officer, Center for Media, Data and Society at SPP

We will provide simultaneous translation between English and Hungarian for the first session.

17:00-18:45

Crises of political communication: misleading public speech and how to deal with it

A panel discussion among scholars from politics, media studies, philosophy, and history, as well as former political practitioners

How much political misleading - not just outright lies but also spin, ‘post-truth’ speech, ‘alternative facts,’ fake news - is compatible with stable democracies? How serious are the threats we now face from various forms of untruth and truth-subversion in politics, including attacks on expertise and shared norms of political discourse? How should we respond to these dangers - and just as importantly, how should we avoid responding?

Panelists:

Michael Ignatieff, President and Rector, CEU

Andras Bozoki, Professor of Political Science, Dept. of Political Science, CEU

Marius Dragomir, Director, Center for Media, Data and Society, School of Public Policy, CEU

Maria Kronfeldner, Associate Professor, Dept. of Philosophy, CEU

Simon Rippon, Associate Professor, Dept. of Philosophy and School of Public Policy, CEU

Moderated by Erica Benner, Senior Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study, CEU; Fellow in Political Philosophy, Dept. of Political Science, Yale University